2017 MLB Mock Draft 1.0

Major League Baseball teams are constantly changing. In a short period of time, an entire team's rotation can be torn apart and rebuilt anew. Just two years ago, the Oakland Athletics rotation consisted of Dallas Braden, Gio Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Tyson Ross, Trevor Cahill and Brandon McCarthy. None of them are with the A's anymore. So many different transactions happen over the course of a season that a rotation could be completely different from one year to the next. On the other hand, the Giants have barely touched their rotation the past two seasons. With the ever-changing landscape of rosters, a rotation could be dynamically altered in just one transaction or deal.

Baltimore Orioles

Kevin Gausman

Dylan Bundy

Miguel Gonzalez

Chris Tillman

Eduardo Rodriguez

Boston Red Sox

Jon Lester

Justin Masterson

Clay Bucholz

John Lackey

Allen Webster

New York Yankees

C.C. Sabathia

Michael Pineda

Ervin Santana

Ivan Nova

Brandon McCarthy

Tampa Bay Rays

Matt Moore

Alex Cobb

Chris Archer

Danny Hultzen

Jake Odorizzi

Toronto Blue Jays

R.A. Dickey

Mark Buehrle

Marcus Stroman

Paul Maholm

Aaron Sanchez

The Orioles' rotation features three current prospects: Bundy, Gausman and Rodriguez but they all have the potential to be front-line starters in the MLB. Gonzalez and Tillman represent the two arbitration eligible players that will be kept because they have benefited from the good defensive play around them.

The Red Sox rotation will re-sign Lester because he has been with the Sox since 2006 and has been a key piece of the rotation in the regular season and the postseason. Masterson is a free agent next year and the Red Sox have enough money to snag him as their second starter. Bucholz will continue to be good but only when he is healthy and he is under contract for the 2015 season. Lackey has a slim $500K vesting option that has been fulfilled because of his injury in 2012. Webster is their top prospect and deserves a chance to start sooner rather than later and will fill the fifth hole admirably.

The Yankees rotation will most likely lose Kuroda in the offseason to Japan and Sabathia is under contract for the season. Pineda is probably forgotten by most after his shoulder tear and losing the entire 2012 and 2013 seasons. However, in his time in the major leagues, Pineda has managed to pitch very well. Santana will be bought by the Yankees in free agency this year to give their pitching a much needed boost. Nova has been an up-and-down player throughout his career but he will come pretty cheap and is a reliable starter when needed. McCarthy will be the only player the Yankees can woo with the relatively weak free agent class next year.

Moore will be under contract in 2015 and is a young pitcher capable of being an ace. Cobb is a strikeout artist and actually broke the MLB record of batters struck out in less than five innings with 13. Archer will not be eligible for arbitration yet and was a rookie of the year candidate this year. Hultzen will come to the Rays in the David Price trade this offseason and is the top left-hander in the game but is coming off of two shoulder surgeries. Odorizzi represents the last pitcher in the rotation but has the tools to be a top starter in any other rotation.

The Blue Jays starters are a mix of new and old with Dickey and Buehrle being under contract and Stroman and Sanchez not even arbitration eligible. Maholm will come along this offseason as a decent innings-eater with a backend ceiling. Morrow's option will not be used because of his injury risk and Happ's will not be used because of his ERA.

Allen Webster

Chicago White Sox

Chris Sale

Jose Quintana

Erik Johnson

John Danks

Ryan Dempster

Cleveland Indians

Trevor Bauer

Danny Salazar

Ubaldo Jimenez

Zach McAllister

Corey Kluber

Detroit Tigers

Justin Verlander

Max Scherzer

Anibal Sanchez

Drew Smyly

Rick Porcello

Kansas City Royals

Yordano Ventura

Danny Duffy

Jason Vargas

Jeremy Guthrie

Kyle Zimmer

Minnesota Twins

Ricky Nolasco

Phil Hughes

Alex Meyer

Trevor May

Mike Pelfrey

The White Sox are looking to rebuild but Sale should not be on the market since he is under team control until 2018. Quintana is a great lefty that is another key piece in the Sox rebuild plans. Johnson is their best pitching prospect that debuted in September and pitched to a 3.25 ERA in five starts. Danks in unfortunately under contract for a large sum of money that seems immovable. He has fallen off considerably since being signed so it looks like the White Sox will just have to bear through his contract. Dempster will be picked up at a cheap price and fill in the fifth spot for very little.

The Indians' rotation will have a four young arms in Bauer, Salazar, McAllister, and Kluber. Bauer is fixing his mechanics this offseason in hopes to overcome the initial struggles he has faced in the MLB. Salazar possesses a great K/9 and debuted late season while finishing with ten starts. Jimenez will come back after other teams refuse to pay for what he did in the second half and sacrifice their first round draft pick. McAllister has been a member of the Indians since 2011 and this was his breakout season; a 3.75 ERA in 24 starts. Kluber performed well in the chances he received too; a 3.85 ERA in 24 starts.

The Tiger's rotation won't necessarily change between now and 2015. With Doug Fister being traded away, Smyly was given the rotation spot and looks better than Porcello. Verlander is obviously an ace and was unlucky this year with the second highest BABIP of his career (.316 BABIP - 3.46 ERA in 2013 vs .319 BABIP - 3.45 ERA in 2009). Scherzer will be re-signed but probably break the bank in Detroit. Sanchez is under contract for what seems like a bargain given some of the deal happening this year. Smyly did well as a starter in 2012 and a reliever in 2013. Porcello can serve as a reliable innings eater out of the fifth spot.

The Royals rotation will focus on Ventura, their current number two prospect that can throw his fastball in the high 90s and occasionally around 100mph. Duffy has proved himself at AAA over the past few seasons and will compete for a starting job this spring. Vargas recently signed a four year deal with the Royals and will assuredly control about 200 innings each season. Guthrie is also under contract in 2015 and is a decent starter that can fill the backend of a rotation. Zimmer, their number one prospect will get his chance to start even though he has only made it to AA in his career so far. He will spend 2014 in the minors and then get his chance after a good spring training in 2015.

The Twins are in rebuilding mode and just signed Nolasco and Hughes to long-term deals. They represent the top portion of the Twins new rotation that decided to start anew and rid themselves of all starters from 2013. Behind Buxton and Sano on the Twins' prospect list sits Alex Meyer; who pitched half of 2013 in AA while maintaining a 3.21 ERA. Trevor May has a good fastball and changeup and projects as a middle-to-backend starter with the Twins, and he pitched 151.2 innings at AAA this season. Pelfrey will be a cheap innings eater that averaged about 190 innings from 2008-2011 before going down with Tommy John Surgery.

Yordano Ventura

Houston Astros

Brett Oberholtzer

Scott Feldman

Mark Appel

Jarred Cosart

Asher Wojchiechowski

Los Angeles Angels

Jered Weaver

C.J. Wilson

Tyler Skaggs

Josh Beckett

Hector Santiago

Oakland Athletics

Sonny Gray

A.J. Griffin

Jarrod Parker

Tommy Milone

Dan Straily

Seattle Mariners

Felix Hernandez

Taijuan Walker

David Price

Hisashi Iwakuma

James Paxton

Texas Rangers

Yu Darvish

Martin Perez

Derek Holland

Matt Harrison

Alexi Ogando

The Astros' rotation will be very young (with the exception of Feldman) and feature two prospects. Oberholtzer was the second young arm that debuted late in the season and he also found success. Oberholtzer had a 2.76 ERA over ten starts even though he was not doing well in AAA. Feldman signed a three year deal with the Astros earlier this offseason and should be a decent middle starter. Appel was taken with the first overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft and will quickly rise up the ranks and make his way into the rotation by 2015. Cosart enjoyed success in the MLB in late 2013 for the Astros, pitching to a 1.95 ERA over ten starts, but those may be a bit lucky because his FIP was actually 4.35. Cosart does have a great cutter that could help him keep his BABIP low. Wojchiechowski was also taken with a first round pick by the Astros back in 2010 but has not advanced as quickly as expected. He will probably compete for the last spot with others like Brad Peacock but should win out. (He will also compete for the longest name in the MLB).

The Angels rotation will contain two names that they just received in the Trumbo trade. Weaver and Wilson are signed for the season already. Weaver was at his usual ace status in 2013 after coming back from a broken elbow. Wilson has pitched 200+ innings in every season since becoming a starter in 2010 and has been a great addition for the Angels. Skaggs just came over in the Trumbo trade that sent from Arizona to Los Angeles and if he can fix his pitches slightly, he has the potential to be an ace. Beckett will be signed on a two year deal that will solidify the Angels' rotation after he finishes the season across town. Santiago also came over in the trade and will be the final piece in a strong rotation.

The Athletics' rotation could be arranged in pretty much any way. All of the starters can maintain an ERA around 3.50 and will not pitch worse than 4.00. The Kazmir signing was unnecessary for the A's because they already had every starter needed so expect to see Kazmir on a different team next season. Billy Beane always has something up his sleeve. Gray debuted late this year and pitched very well in the regular season and then almost out dueled Justin Verlander en route to a postseason masterpiece. Griffin has been with the team two years and averaged a 3.60 ERA. Parker has also been with the A's just two years and maintained a 3.68 ERA. Milone has averaged a 3.92 ERA with the Athletics over two years as well. Straily debuted this year and pitched well. The Athletics know what they want in a pitcher in they grab it for cheap. There may not be an ace on the team but everyone contributes equally.

The Mariners will be frontrunners for the best pitching staff in baseball after trading for Price during the offseason. Hernandez is signed until 2020 and is under-ratedly one of the best pitchers in baseball. Walker is the number one pitching prospect in baseball and possesses all of the tools to succeed long term in the MLB. Price will come to Seattle in a huge trade that will send Zunino, Smoak, Miller, and Hultzen to Tampa Bay. Iwakuma enjoyed one of the best seasons of any pitcher in 2013 and was a finalist in the Cy Young award voting. Paxton debuted later in the season and performed well as one of the Mariner's pitching trio.

The Rangers' rotation is almost entirely locked down for 2015. Darvish signed a six year deal coming out of Japan before 2012, Perez just signed a four year extension, Holland also signed a five year deal before 2012, and Harrison signed a six year deal before 2012. Darvish is one of the best in the game and will be a true staff ace for years to come. Perez was a rookie this year and pitched to a 3.62 ERA in 20 starts. Holland bounced back from a poor 2012 season to solidifying his spot on the team. Harrison only made two starts this year before going down with a back injury for the remainder of the year. Ogando can be either a starter or reliever when the team needs him to but is very good either way.

Sonny Gray

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